Sharing audio from a source device

ABSTRACT

In various examples, audio received from a source device is shared from a first wireless earbud to one or more other wireless earbuds. For example, source-device settings are shared by the first wireless earbud with the one or more other wireless earbuds to facilitate synchronization and passive receipt of data transmitted by the source device. Once the wireless earbuds are synchronized, they may check in with one another in a coordinated manner to share packets that were missed when passively listening to the source device.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.63/120,563, filed on Dec. 2, 2020, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Digital audio (e.g., related to a song or video content) is oftenwirelessly streamed from a source device (e.g., mobile device ortelevision) to a speaker (e.g., wireless earbud, wireless headphone, orsmart speaker), such as over a Bluetooth connection. However, somewireless communication protocols (e.g., classic Bluetooth or BasicRate/Enhanced Data Rate (BR/EDR)), may be limited in some respects. Forexample, a source device executing classic Bluetooth may not be able tobroadcast digital audio to multiple devices at the same time, eventhough there are instances in which it would be useful, such as when twoor more people want to listen to the same audio on separate pairs ofwireless headphones (e.g., while watching a video on a shared device).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is set forth below with reference to theaccompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of areference number identifies the figure in which the reference numberfirst appears. The use of the same reference numbers in differentfigures indicates similar or identical items. The systems depicted inthe accompanying figures are not to scale and components within thefigures may be depicted not to scale with each other.

FIG. 1 illustrates a first user wearing a first pair of wireless earbudsand a second user wearing a second pair of wireless earbuds. In thisexample, one of the earbuds in the first pair is in communication with asource device, the other earbud in the first pair, and one of thewireless earbuds in the second pair, and may also be in communicationwith the other earbud in the second pair.

FIG. 2 illustrates a functional block diagram of example wirelessearbuds, as well as communication channels between the wireless earbudsand between one of the wireless earbuds and a source device.

FIG. 3 illustrates a first example signal diagram for sharing audio datafrom a first pair of wireless earbuds to a second pair of wirelessearbuds. In some instances, one or both earbuds in the second pair mayfail to receive some packets of audio when sniffing on a transmissionfrom a source device. In that case, one of the earbuds from the firstpair may provide the missed packets following a process outlined inFIGS. 4A and 4B or a process outlined in 5A and 5B.

FIG. 4A-4D collectively illustrate an example signal diagram ofprocesses for a first wireless earbud to check in with a second wirelessearbud and with a second pair of wireless earbuds using differentcommunication channels. Once the first wireless earbud is notified ofany missed packets, the first wireless earbud may forward the missedpackets to the other earbuds.

FIG. 5A-5C collectively illustrate an example signal diagram of anotherprocess for a first wireless earbud to check in with a second wirelessearbud and with a second pair of wireless earbuds using a samecommunication channel. Once the first wireless earbud is notified of anymissed packets, the first wireless earbud may forward the missed packetsto the other earbuds.

FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 each illustrates a flow diagram of a method forsharing audio data among pairs of earbuds.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example architecture ofwireless headphone that includes components for some of the techniquesdescribed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Subject matter of the present disclosure relates to sharing audiostreamed from a source device, such as audio streamed from the sourcedevice over a wireless communication protocol. For example, a firstwireless speaker (e.g., wireless earbud, wireless headphone, or smartspeaker) may receive audio data from a source device and forward theaudio data to one or more other wireless speakers pursuant to varioustiming or synchronization approaches. Audio sharing may occur in variouscontexts. For instance, two or more people may be viewing a displayscreen of a shared device (e.g., a television in a living room or amobile device on an airplane) to watch a video. It may be desirable tonot use the speaker of the shared device (e.g., to not disturb others inthe vicinity), and each person viewing the shared display screen may bewearing wireless headphones (e.g., wireless earbuds, in-ear, over-ear,on-ear, etc.). In that case, the device (e.g., “source device) maystream audio data to a first wireless earbud (e.g., via a classicBluetooth connection), and the first wireless earbud may forward theaudio data to one or more other wireless earbuds (e.g., to the otherwireless earbud paired with the first wireless earbud and to the otherpair of wireless earbuds). In another example, two or more people maywant to listen to audio (e.g., music, podcast, audio book) from a singlesource device, and each person may be wearing wireless earbuds (e.g.,wireless earbuds, in-ear, over-ear, on-ear, etc.). In that case, thesingle source device may stream audio data to a first wireless earbud(e.g., via a classic Bluetooth connection), and the first wirelessearbud may forward the audio data to one or more other wireless earbuds(e.g., to the other wireless earbud paired with the first wirelessearbud and to the other pair of wireless earbuds). In a further example,several wireless speakers (e.g., two, three, or more speakers) may bearranged throughout an area (e.g., in different rooms of a house). Asource device may stream audio data to one of the wireless speakers(e.g., via a classic Bluetooth connection), and the speaker may forwardthe audio data to one or more of the other speakers.

When exchanging data wirelessly (e.g., via Bluetooth) synchronizationbetween devices may be helpful in various respects. For example,synchronization may help a recipient device organize the receivedstreamed content and may help a device track when it's the device's turnto either receive or transmit information. In addition, synchronizationmay help a device track when to hop frequencies or when to switch fromone channel to another channel. One aspect of this disclosure isdirected to a first wireless speaker (e.g., a coordinator wirelessspeaker), which is wirelessly connected to a source device, sharingaudio content with multiple other wireless speakers (e.g., responderwireless speaker) in a synchronized manner.

A coordinator wireless speaker may include a wireless earbud in a pairof wireless earbuds (e.g., earbuds, over-the-ear, on-the-ear,in-the-ear, etc.) or other types of wireless loudspeakers (e.g., cubes,soundbars, portable speakers, smart speakers, etc.). Likewise, aresponder wireless speaker may include a wireless earbud (e.g., earbuds,over-the-ear, on-the-ear, in-the-ear, etc.) paired together with acoordinator wireless speaker to make a pair of wireless earbuds oranother wireless speaker. The coordinator wireless speaker maysynchronize with a responder wireless speaker in various manners. Forexample, a coordinator wireless speaker may forward source-deviceinformation (e.g., address, media channel identifier (CID), clock info,Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) map, link key, etc.) to the responderwireless speaker, and the coordinator wireless speaker and the responderwireless speaker may adjust control parameters to sync to the sourcedevice. When synchronized, the coordinator wireless speaker may check inwith the responder wireless speaker in various manners. For example, thecoordinator wireless speaker and the responder wireless speaker mayswitch over to a different communication channel (e.g., different thanthe channel between the coordinator wireless speaker and the sourcedevice) at scheduled check-in times (e.g., partial slots, programmedintervals, etc.). In addition to increasing the likelihood thecoordinator wireless speaker and the responder wireless speaker connect,switching at scheduled check-in times may efficiently utilize bandwidthby minimizing the time speakers might listen or wait on a channel beforereceiving a communication.

Forwarding source-device information from a coordinator wireless speakerto a responder wireless speaker may facilitate audio sharing in otherways. For example, once a responder wireless speaker receives thesource-device information, the responder wireless speaker may passivelyreceive data transmitted along the communication channel between thecoordinator wireless speaker and the source device. By passivelyreceiving, the responder wireless speaker may capture audio datastreamed from the source device to the coordinator wireless speakerwithout transmitting communications (e.g., acknowledgement “ACK”) backto the source device. As such, when the responder wireless speakerchecks in with the coordinator wireless speaker (e.g., at thepartial-slot or the programmed interval), the responder wireless speakermay provide an update identifying any missed audio data, which may beprovided by the coordinator wireless speaker.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, audio data may beshared among multiple sets of wireless earbuds. For example, acoordinator wireless earbud may be synchronized with a paired responderwireless earbud (e.g., in a first pair of wireless earbuds) and may alsobe synchronized with one or more responder wireless earbuds in a secondpair of wireless earbuds. As such, the coordinator wireless earbud mayactively receive audio data from a source device using a firstcommunication channel, while the other responder wireless earbudspassively receive audio data on the first communication channel.According to one or more various timing mechanisms, the coordinatorwireless earbud may check in with the paired responder wireless earbudin the first pair of wireless earbuds and with one or more of theresponder wireless earbuds in the second pair of wireless earbuds toverify whether any audio data was missed by the responder wirelessearbuds while passively receiving. The coordinator wireless earbud maythen provide any missed audio data to the responder wireless earbuds.

With reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 illustrates a first user 110 wearing afirst wireless earbud 112 (e.g., wireless earbud) and a second wirelessearbud 114 (e.g., wireless earbud), which may be referred to in thisdisclosure as a first pair of wireless earbuds. In addition, FIG. 1illustrates a second user 116 wearing a third wireless earbud 118 (e.g.,wireless earbud) and a fourth wireless earbud 120 (e.g., wirelessearbud), which may be referred to in this disclosure as a second pair ofwireless earbuds. The first wireless earbud 112 is connected to a sourcedevice 122 via a first wireless communication channel 124, over whichthe first wireless earbud 112 receives link data 126 (e.g.,source-device information) and audio data 128 (e.g., audio data), whichthe first wireless earbud may forward to other of the wireless earbuds.In this disclosure, the first wireless earbud 112 may also be referredto as a coordinator wireless earbud or a lead primary wireless earbud;the second wireless earbud 114 may be referred to a responder wirelessearbud or a lead secondary wireless earbud; the third wireless earbud118 may be referred to as a responder wireless earbud or a followerprimary wireless earbud; and the fourth wireless earbud 120 may bereferred to as a responder wireless earbud or a follower secondarywireless earbud.

In some instances, the first wireless earbud 112 and the second wirelessearbud 114 may be physically similar and look alike. For example, insome instances, the first wireless earbud 112 and the second wirelessearbud 114 may be physically indistinguishable by the user 110, while inother instances one of the earbuds may be designed for and designated asa right earbud while the other may be designed for and designated as aleft earbud. In this example, the first wireless earbud 112 is shownresiding within the left ear of the user 110 while the second wirelessearbud 114 is shown residing within the right ear of the user 110. Insome instances, the wireless earbuds 112 and 114 may resemble earbudearbuds that fit within the ear and/or ear canal of the user, while inother instances the earbuds may reside atop the ear, on the ear, oraround the ear of the user 110.

In addition, the third wireless earbud 118 and the fourth wirelessearbud 120 may be physically similar and look alike. In some instances,the third wireless earbud 118 and the fourth wireless earbud 120 may bephysically indistinguishable by the user 116, while in other instancesone of the earbuds may be designed for and designated as a right earbudwhile the other may be designed for and designated as a left earbud. Inthis example, the third wireless earbud 118 is shown residing within theright ear of the user 116 while the fourth wireless earbud 120 is shownresiding within the left ear of the user 116. In some instances, thewireless earbuds 118 and 120 may resemble earbud earbuds that fit withinthe ear and/or ear canal of the user, while in other instances theearbuds may reside atop the ear, on the ear, or around the ear of theuser 116. The first pair of earbuds 112 and 114 may resemble the secondpair of earbuds 118 and 120. For example, the first pair of earbuds 112and 114 may be a same model and version as the second pair of earbudsand 118 and 120. Alternatively, the first pair of earbuds 112 and 114may be a different model or version or brand from the second pair ofearbuds 118 and 120 and may be made by different manufacturers.

The first wireless earbud 112 may be communicatively coupled to thesource device 122 using the first communication channel 124. In someinstances, the first communication channel 124 may include Bluetooth(e.g., 802.11), ZigBee (e.g., 802.15.4), Z-wave, or the like. The firstwireless earbud 112 may receive various information from the sourcedevice 122 over the first communication channel 124. For example, thefirst wireless earbud 112 may receive link data 126 (e.g., source-deviceinformation, such as address, media channel identifier (OD), clock info,Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) map, link key, etc.) and audio data 128from the source device 122 over the first communication channel 124. Theaudio data 128 may be related to a song, or other audio (e.g.,corresponding to video content, podcast, audio book, etc.), to be outputby the wireless earbuds 112 and 114. The first wireless earbud 112 mayoutput the audio signal represented by the audio data 128 through aspeaker of the first wireless earbud 112.

The first wireless earbud 112 may be communicatively coupled to thesecond wireless earbud 114 using a second communication channel 130 anda third communication channel 132. The second communication channel 130and the third communication channel 132 may include Bluetooth Low Energy(BLE), ANT, Thread, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or the like. The first wirelessearbud 112 may transmit link data 134 (e.g., a copy of link data 126)and audio data 136 (e.g., a copy of at least a portion of audio data128) to the second wireless earbud 114 via the second communicationchannel 130. The second wireless earbud 114 may output audio signalsrepresenting the audio data 136 through a speaker of the second wirelessearbud 114. In one example, after receiving the link data 134 andsyncing (e.g., syncing Bluetooth settings), the second wireless earbud114 may passively receive audio data 128 transmitted on the firstcommunication channel 124. In addition, the first wireless earbud 112may check in with the second wireless earbud 114 to determine whetherany audio packets were missed, and if so, provide the missed audiopackets (e.g., audio data 136 may be a copy of at least a portion ofaudio data 128).

The wireless earbuds 112 and 114 may be synched together (e.g., based onaligning settings using the link data 126 and the link data 134), suchthat the sound outputted at each wireless earbud sounds the same to theuser 110. In addition, by synching together, the first wireless earbud112 and the second wireless earbud 114 may increase the likelihood thatboth earbuds 112 and 114 will be available to communicate on the secondcommunication channel 130 at the same time. In a further aspect, controldata 138 and 140 (e.g., volume up, volume down, pause, play, stop, skipforward, skip back, etc.) may be exchanged between the first wirelessearbud 112 and the second wireless earbud 114 over the thirdcommunication channel 132.

In some instances, as the first wireless earbud 112 and the secondwireless earbud 114 may be indistinguishable, the user 110 may conductan out-of-box experience (OOBE) with the wireless earbuds 112 and 114 toassociate the source device 122 with the wireless earbuds 112 and 114.The OOBE may also configure one of the wireless earbuds 112 and 114 asthe first wireless earbud 112 and another of the wireless earbuds 112and 114 as the second wireless earbud 114. In some instances, the firstwireless earbud 112 may be considered a primary wireless earbud or acoordinator wireless earbud as it receives the audio data 128 and thelink data 126 from the source device 122, while the second wirelessearbud 114 may be considered a secondary wireless earbud or responderwireless earbud. The designation and role as “coordinator” may changeunder various circumstances. For example, if a signal between the secondwireless earbud 114 and the source device 122 is stronger than betweenthe first wireless earbud 112 and the source device 122, then the secondwireless earbud 114 may function as the coordinator wireless speaker. Ifthe first wireless earbud has already been designated the coordinatorand the second wireless earbud 114 is better suited in a circumstance(e.g., stronger signal), then a handoff protocol may be executed totemporarily halt a flow of data while the roles switch.

In addition, the third wireless earbud 118 may be communicativelycoupled to the fourth wireless earbud 120 using a fourth communicationchannel 142 and a fifth communication channel 144. The fourthcommunication channel 142 and the fifth communication channel 144 mayinclude Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), ANT, Thread, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, orthe like. The third wireless earbud 118 may transmit link data 146 andaudio data 148 to the fourth wireless earbud 120 via the fourthcommunication channel 142. The fourth wireless earbud 120 may outputaudio signals representing the audio data 148 through a speaker of thefourth wireless earbud 120. The wireless earbuds 118 and 120 may besynched together (e.g., based on aligning settings using the link data146), such that the sound outputted at each wireless earbud sounds thesame to the user 116. In addition, control data 150 and 152 (e.g.,volume up, volume down, pause, play, stop, skip forward, skip back,etc.) may be exchanged between the third wireless earbud 118 and thefourth wireless earbud 120 over the seventh communication channel 156.

The third wireless earbud 118 and the fourth wireless earbud 120 mayalso be set up so that the third wireless earbud 118 is a primary earbudor a coordinator earbud in the second pair of wireless earbuds. Forexample, if the second pair of wireless earbuds were to connect to asource device (e.g., independently of the first pair of wireless earbuds112 and 114), then the third wireless earbud 118 may be the primaryearbud or the coordinator earbud for receiving data from the sourcedevice and forwarding the data to the fourth wireless earbud. Inaddition, in some examples, the third wireless earbud (as the primary inthe second pair) may receive data from the first wireless earbud 112 andforward that data to the fourth wireless earbud 120.

As indicated above, FIG. 1 depicts the first pair of wireless earbuds112 and 114, which may communicate over the communication channels 130and 132, and the second pair of earbuds 118 and 120, which maycommunicate over the communication channels 142 and 144. In a furtheraspect, the first wireless earbud 112 may also be communicativelycoupled to the third wireless earbud 118 using a sixth communicationchannel 154. The sixth communication channel 154 may include BluetoothLow Energy (BLE), ANT, Thread, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or the like. The firstwireless earbud 112 may transmit link data 156 (e.g., a copy of linkdata 126) and audio data 158 (e.g., a copy of at least a portion ofaudio data 128) to the third wireless earbud 118 via the sixthcommunication channel 154. In one example, after receiving the link data156 and syncing (e.g., syncing Bluetooth settings), the third wirelessearbud 118 may passively receive audio data 128 transmitted on the firstcommunication channel 124. In addition, the first wireless earbud 112may check in with the third wireless earbud 118 to determine whether anyaudio packets were missed, and if so, provide the missed audio packets(e.g., audio data 158 may be a copy of at least a portion of audio data128). The third wireless earbud 118 may output audio signalsrepresenting the audio data 158 through a speaker of the third wirelessearbud 118, and the wireless earbuds 112 and 118 may be synched together(e.g., based on aligning settings using the link data 126 and 156), suchthat the sound outputted at each wireless earbud is similarly presented.

Sharing with the fourth wireless earbud 120 may be carried out invarious manners. For example, in one aspect, the third wireless earbud118, which is a coordinator wireless earbud in the second pair ofwireless earbuds 118 and 120, may forward link data to the fourthwireless earbud 120, which the fourth wireless earbud 120 may use tosync to the source device 122. As such, the fourth wireless earbud 120may also passively receive audio data 128 transmitted on thecommunication channel 124. In addition, the third wireless earbud 118may check in with the fourth wireless earbud 120 to determine whetherany audio packets were missed, and if so, provide the missed audiopackets.

In an alternative aspect, the first wireless earbud 112 may also becommunicatively coupled to the fourth wireless earbud 120 using aseventh communication channel 160, which may include Bluetooth LowEnergy (BLE), ANT, Thread, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or the like. The firstwireless earbud 112 may transmit link data 162 (e.g., a copy of linkdata 126) and audio data 164 (e.g., a copy of at least a portion ofaudio data 128) to the fourth wireless earbud 120 via the seventhcommunication channel 160. In one example, after receiving the link data124 and syncing (e.g., syncing Bluetooth settings), the fourth wirelessearbud 120 may passively receive audio data 128 transmitted on the firstcommunication channel 124. In addition, the first wireless earbud 112may check in with the fourth wireless earbud 120 to determine whetherany audio packets were missed, and if so, provide the missed audiopackets (e.g., audio data 164 may be a copy of at least a portion ofaudio data 128). The fourth wireless earbud 120 may output audio signalsrepresenting the audio data 164 through a speaker of the fourth wirelessearbud 120, and the wireless earbuds 112 and 120 may be synced together,such that the sound outputted at each wireless earbud is similarlypresented.

In some aspects of the present disclosure, each of the communicationchannels 124, 130, 132, 142, 144, 154 and 160 may be a separatecommunication channel or piconet. For instance, the second communicationchannel 130, the sixth communication channel 154, and the seventhcommunication channel 160 may all be separate communication channels. Inother aspects, one or more of the communication channels may be a samecommunication channel or piconet that is used to exchange data betweendifferent pairs of wireless speakers at different times. For example,the second communication channel 130, the sixth communication channel154, and the seventh communication channel 160, or any combinationthereof may all be a same communication channels that used at differenttimes to exchange data between the first wireless earbud 112 and theother wireless earbuds 114, 118, and 120. Further still, one or more ofthe communication channels may be omitted. For example, the seventhcommunication channel 160 may be omitted, in which case the thirdwireless earbud 118 may relay data between the first wireless earbud viathe sixth communication channel 154 and the fourth communication channel142.

Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 illustrates selected functional componentsof the source device 122, the first wireless earbud 112, the secondwireless earbud 114, the third wireless earbud 118, and the fourthwireless earbud 120. In addition, FIG. 2 illustrates that the sourcedevice 122 may exchange data with the first wireless earbud 112 over thefirst communication channel 124; the first wireless earbud 112 mayexchange data with the second wireless earbud 114 over the secondcommunication channel 130; the first wireless earbud 112 may exchangedata with the third wireless earbud 118 over the sixth communicationchannel 154; the first wireless earbud 112 may exchange data with thefourth wireless earbud 120 over the seventh communication channel 160;and the third wireless earbud 118 may exchange data with the fourthwireless earbud 120 over the fourth communication channel 142.

As illustrated, the source device 122 includes processor(s) 200, awireless network interface 202 (e.g., classic Bluetooth interface orBluetooth Basic Rate/Enhanced Data Rate (BR/EDR)), and memory 204storing link data 206 (e.g., link data 126 or a copy thereof) and audiodata 208 (e.g., audio data 128 of a copy thereof). The wirelessinterface 202 may be used to transmit link data 206 and audio data 208to a wireless earbud. Absent subject matter described in thisdisclosure, the wireless interface 202 may be limited to transmittingthe audio data 208 to a single wireless speaker at a time, and aspectsof this disclosure share the audio data 208 received from the sourcedevice 122 across multiple wireless speakers. For example, not only mayaudio data be shared between the first wireless earbud 112 and thesecond wireless earbud 114, but the audio data may also be shared withthe third wireless earbud 118 and the fourth wireless earbud 120.

The first wireless earbud 112 may include, among other things,processor(s) 210, memory 212, speaker(s) 214, and a wireless interface216 (e.g., Bluetooth interface). As illustrated, the first wirelessearbud 112 includes the memory 212, which stores or otherwise has accessto various data, such as link data 218 and channel-switch settings 220.In some instances, the link data 218 may include information usable bythe wireless interface 216 to communicate via one or more of thecommunication channels 124, 130, 154, and 160. For example, the linkdata 218 may include source-device information or link data 126 or 206communicated from the source device 122 (e.g., source-deviceinformation, such as address, media channel identifier (OD), clock info,Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) map, link key, etc.). The link data 218may also include link information related to the settings for the othercommunication channels used by the first wireless speaker, such assettings for the second communication channel 130, the sixthcommunication channel 154, and the seventh communication channel 160.The first wireless earbud 112 may include other interfaces as well (notshown), such as a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) interface, a NFMIinterface, a Wi-Fi interface, and the like.

The channel-switch settings 220 may include timing sequences, schemes,or intervals that are used by the first wireless earbud 112 to switchfrom one communication channel to a different communication channel. Forexample, the first wireless earbud 112 may use the channel-switchsettings 220 to determine when to switch from a first communicationchannel 124 with the source device 122 to a different communicationchannel 130, 154, or 160 with one of the wireless earbuds 114, 118, or120. One example of a channel-switch setting 220 is a periodicprogrammed interval every n slots, where n may be configured (e.g.,every 36 slots). As used in this disclosure, a “slot” includes adiscrete time duration (e.g., 625 microseconds), and a “programmedinterval” includes a set of one or more discrete time durations having aquantity of discrete time durations. The quantity may be specified,programmed, controlled, etc. using the channel-switch settings. Underthis type of example channel-switch setting 220, the first wirelessearbud 112 may switch from the first communication channel 124 toanother one of the communication channels 130, 142, or 144, at thebeginning of each interval or when a previous interval lapses. Aperiodic programmed interval may be timed independently of source-devicetransmissions, such that each interval of n slots is counted or startsregardless of what transmissions are currently being sent by the sourcedevice. In other instances, the periodic programmed interval may bebased on when a source device begins transmitting data (e.g., n slotsafter the source device starts transmitting audio data). Another examplechannel-switch setting 220 includes a partial-slot channel switch, inwhich case the first wireless earbud may listen on the firstcommunication channel 124 at the beginning of a slot, and once nopackets are received from the source device 122, may switch to adifferent communication channel in the middle of the slot (e.g.,half-slot).

In one aspect, the first wireless earbud 112 may forward the link data218 (e.g., a copy of the link data 206) and the channel-switch settings220 to one or more of the other wireless earbuds 114, 118, and 120 tofacilitate syncing. For example, the first wireless earbud 112 and thesecond wireless earbud 114 may establish a variety of differentconnections as typically available between a pair of wireless earbudsbased on an OOBE, upon removal from a charging case, upon powering up,etc. As such, upon receiving link data 218 and/or channel-switchsettings 220, the first wireless earbud 112 may forward them to thesecond wireless earbud 114.

In addition, the first wireless earbud 112 and the third wireless earbud118 may establish a wireless connection 154 (e.g., Bluetooth classicconnection) resulting from various triggers, such as the first wirelessearbud 112 and the third wireless earbud 118 being located within athreshold distance from one another (e.g., based on Receiver SignalStrength Indicator (RSSI)) or some control action executed on bothwireless earbuds 112 and 118). The wireless connection 154 may include aBluetooth connection using a fixed Logical Link Control and AdaptationProtocol (L2CAP) based host connection and encrypt the link using anencryption key generated out of “Just works” pairing. The first wirelessearbud 112 may forward link data 218 upon encryption of the channel 154.

The first wireless earbud 112 may forward link data 218 andchannel-switch settings 220 to the fourth wireless earbud 120 uponencryption of the channel 160 (e.g., similar to the example describedabove with the third wireless earbud 118). In another aspect, the thirdwireless earbud 118 may forward the link data 218 and channel-switchsettings 220 to the fourth wireless earbud 120 over the fourthcommunication channel 142 after the third wireless earbud 118 receivesthem from the first wireless earbud 112.

The second wireless earbud 114 may include components that are similarto the first wireless earbud 112, such as processor(s) 222, memory 224,speaker(s) 226, and a wireless interface 228. In addition, the secondwireless earbud 114 may store in memory 224 link data 230 andchannel-switch settings 232 received from the first wireless earbud 112.The link data 230 may be used by the second wireless earbud 114 topassively receive (e.g., “sniff” or “listen to”) data on the firstcommunication channel 124, the sixth communication channel 154, and theseventh communication channel 160. In addition, the link data 230 may beused to sync the first wireless earbud 112 and the second wirelessearbud 114 so that audio data transmitted from the source device 122 ispresented in a consistent manner across the devices using the speakers214 and 226. Furthermore, the channel-switch settings 232 (e.g.,programmed interval setting or partial-slot mechanism) may be used bythe second wireless earbud 114 to switch from listing on the firstcommunication channel 124 to receiving data from the first wirelessearbud 112 on the second communication channel 130.

The third wireless earbud 118 may also include components that aresimilar to the first wireless earbud 112, such as processor(s) 234,memory 236, speaker(s) 238, and a wireless interface 240. In addition,the third wireless earbud 118 may store in memory 236 link data 242 andchannel-switch settings 244 received from the first wireless earbud 112.The link data 230 may be used by the third wireless earbud 118 topassively receive (e.g., “sniff” or “listen to”) data on the firstcommunication channel 124, the second communication channel 130, and theseventh communication channel 160. In addition, the link data 230 may beused to sync the first wireless earbud 112 and the third wireless earbud118 so that audio data transmitted from the source device 122 ispresented in a consistent manner across the devices using the speakers214 and 238. Furthermore, the channel-switch settings 244 may be used bythe third wireless earbud 118 to switch from listing on the firstcommunication channel 124 to receiving data from the first wirelessearbud 112 on the sixth communication channel 154.

The fourth wireless earbud 120 may also include components that aresimilar to the first wireless earbud 112, such as processor(s) 246,memory 248, speaker(s) 250, and a wireless interface 252. In addition,the fourth wireless earbud 120 may store in memory 248 link data 254 andchannel-switch settings 256 received from the first wireless earbud 112or from the third wireless earbud 118. The link data 254 may be used bythe fourth wireless earbud 120 to passively receive data via the firstcommunication channel 124, the second communication channel 130, and thesixth communication channel 154. In addition, the link data 254 may beused to sync the fourth wireless earbud 120 with the first wirelessearbud 112 and/or the third wireless earbud 118 so that audio datatransmitted from the source device 122 is presented in a consistentmanner across the devices using the speakers 214, 238, and 250.Furthermore, the channel-switch settings 256 may be used by the fourthwireless earbud 120 to switch from listing on the first communicationchannel 124 to receiving data from the first wireless earbud 112 on theseventh communication channel 160 or receiving data from the thirdwireless earbud 118 on the fourth communication channel 142.

As used herein, a processor, such as processor(s) 200, 210, 222, 234,and 246 may include multiple processors and/or a processor havingmultiple cores. Further, the processor(s) may comprise one or more coresof different types. For example, the processor(s) may includeapplication processor units, graphic processing units, and so forth. Inone implementation, the processor(s) may comprise a microcontrollerand/or a microprocessor. The processor(s) may include a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor orother processing units or components known in the art. Alternatively, orin addition, the functionally described herein can be performed, atleast in part, by one or more hardware logic components. For example,and without limitation, illustrative types of hardware logic componentsthat may be used include field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application-specificstandard products (ASSPs), system-on-a-chip systems (SOCs), complexprogrammable logic devices (CPLDs), etc. Additionally, each of theprocessor(s) may possess its own local memory, which also may storeprogram components, program data, and/or one or more operating systems.

The memory 204, 212, 22, 236, and 248 may include volatile andnonvolatile memory, removable and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information, such ascomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program component, orother data. Such memory may include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM,EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,RAID storage systems, or any other medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which can be accessed by a computing device. Thememory may be implemented as computer-readable storage media (“CRSM”),which may be any available physical media accessible by the processor(s)to execute instructions stored on the memory. In one basicimplementation, CRSM may include random access memory (“RAM”) and Flashmemory. In other implementations, CRSM may include, but is not limitedto, read-only memory (“ROM”), electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (“EEPROM”), or any other tangible medium which can beused to store the desired information and which can be accessed by theprocessor(s).

FIGS. 3, 4A, 4B, 5A, 5B, 5C, and 6-8 illustrate various processesrelated to sharing audio provided by a source device 122 (e.g., by awireless communication channel, such as Bluetooth). The processesdescribed herein are illustrated as collections of blocks in logicalflow diagrams, which represent a sequence of operations, some or all ofwhich may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combinationthereof. In the context of software, the blocks may representcomputer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readablemedia that, when executed by one or more processors, program theprocessors to perform the recited operations. Generally,computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects,components, data structures and the like that perform functions orimplement particular data types. The order in which the blocks aredescribed should not be construed as a limitation, unless specificallynoted. Any number of the described blocks may be combined in any orderand/or in parallel to implement the process, or alternative processes,and not all the blocks need be executed. For discussion purposes, theprocesses are described with reference to the environments,architectures and systems described in the examples herein, such as, forexample those described with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2, although theprocesses may be implemented in a wide variety of other environments,architectures and systems. Furthermore, although FIGS. 3, 4A, 4B, 5A,5B, and 5C illustrate wireless earbuds in accordance with one aspect ofthis disclosure, in other aspects, the example processes 300, 400, and500 may be performed by other types of wireless speakers (e.g., smartspeakers).

Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 illustrates a signal diagram of an exampleprocess 300 for sharing audio provided a source device 122. FIG. 3 alsodepicts the first pair of wireless earbuds, which includes the firstwireless earbud 112 and the second wireless earbud 114, and the secondpair of wireless earbuds, which includes the third wireless earbud 118and the fourth wireless earbud 120.

According to the process, a signal S302 (e.g., the link data 126) istransmitted from the source device 122 to the first wireless earbud 112(e.g., via the first communication channel 124), and the first wirelessearbud 112 receives the link data at 304 and syncs settings at 306(e.g., using link data 218 to configure channel-switch settings 220).The first wireless earbud 112 transmits a signal S308 to the secondwireless earbud 114 and a signal S310 to the third wireless earbud 118.Each of the second wireless earbud 114 and the third wireless earbud 118may sync settings with the first wireless earbud 112 and the sourcedevice 122 at 312 and 314, respectively. Among other things, syncing mayenable the first wireless earbud 112 to communicate with the secondwireless earbud 114 on the second and third communication channels 130and 132 and may enable the first wireless earbud 112 to communicate withthe third wireless earbud 118 via the sixth communication channel 154.In addition, the third wireless earbud 118 may transmit a signal S316 tothe fourth wireless earbud 120 (e.g., via the fourth communicationchannel 142), and the fourth wireless device 120 may also sync settingswith the first wireless earbud 112, the third wireless earbud 118, andthe source device 122 at 318. Although FIG. 3 depicts the third wirelessearbud 118 transmitting the settings to the fourth wireless earbud 120,in another aspect, the first wireless earbud 112 may transmit thesettings to the fourth wireless earbud 120. Syncing may enable thefourth wireless earbud 120 to communicate with the first wireless earbud112 via the seventh communication channel 160 and with the thirdwireless earbud 118 via the fourth and fifth communication channels 142and 144.

The process 300 further includes transmitting a signal S320 includingaudio data from the source device 122 to the first wireless earbud 112,and the first wireless earbud 112 receives audio data at 322 (and maytransmit an acknowledgment back to the source device 122 acknowledgingreceipt). In an aspect of the disclosure, the second wireless earbud114, the third wireless earbud 118, and the fourth wireless earbud 120may attempt to passively receive the signal S320, including the audiodata. This passive receiving or passive channel is illustrated using adashed line, as opposed to the solid line depicting the channel betweenthe first wireless earbud 112 and the source device 122.

In some instances, the second wireless earbud 114, the third wirelessearbud 118, and the fourth wireless earbud 120 may each receive theaudio data transmissions from the source device to the first wirelessearbud 112. In other instances, the second wireless earbud 114, thethird wireless earbud 118, and/or the fourth wireless earbud 120 mayfail to receive at least some of the audio data in the source device 122transmission. For example, in the process 300 the second wireless earbud114 and the fourth wireless earbud 120 passively receive the audio datain the signal S320, whereas the third wireless earbud 118 misses, at324, at least some of the audio data in the signal S320. In a furtherstep, signal S326 is transmitted by the source device 122 and received,at 328, by the first wireless earbud 112. The second wireless earbud 114and the third wireless earbud 118 passively receive the audio data inthe signal S326, whereas the fourth wireless earbud 120 misses, at 330,at least some of the audio data in the signal S326. In yet another step,signal S332 is transmitted by the source device 122 and received, at334, by the first wireless earbud 112 and passively received by thesecond wireless earbud 114. However, the third wireless earbud 118misses, at 336, at least some of the audio data in the signal S332, andthe fourth wireless earbud 120 misses, at 338, at least some of theaudio data in the signal S332.

In the process 300, the first wireless earbud 112 receives the audiodata at 322, 328, and 334. In an aspect of the present disclosure, thefirst wireless earbud 112 (e.g., the coordinator) may check in with theother wireless earbuds to provide any missed packets, and variouscheck-in options are possible depending on the channel-switch settings(e.g., 220, 232, 244, and 256). In some instances, the check-in may beless dependent on whether, or asynchronous with, audio data beingreceived from the source device 122 and may occur at programmedintervals (e.g., T_poll every n slots) An example of a process thatimplements programmed intervals is illustrated in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4Cexplained below. In other instances, the check-in may be based at leastpartially on whether audio data is being received from the source device122 and may occur using partial-slot slot timing (e.g., half-slots). Anexample of a process that implements partial-slot timing is illustratedin FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C explained below. In addition, these approachesmay be combined, and in some instances, a check-in may occur usingpartial-slot timing, while in other cases programmed intervals are used.

Referring to FIG. 4A, FIG. 4A illustrates a signal diagram of an exampleprocess 400 for sharing audio provided by a source device 122 (e.g., asource device providing audio via Bluetooth). In particular, the process400 includes elements related to the first wireless earbud 112 checkingin with the second wireless earbud 114, and the first wireless earbud112 also checking in with the second pair of wireless earbuds 118 and120, such as after the process 300 is executed or as a continuation ofthe process 300. In addition, the process includes a combination oftiming and synchronization mechanisms to efficiently use the bandwidth.

The process 400 includes, at 402, the first wireless earbud 112 waitingto receive data by way of the first communication channel 124 (e.g., viawhich the source device 122 transmits audio data). For example, thefirst wireless earbud 112 may adjust settings (or leave settings ifalready set) to tune to a scheduled channel or frequency consistent withlink data received from the source device 122 and prepare to receive anydata (e.g., audio data) transmitted from the source device 122 on thefirst communication channel 124. In parallel, at 404, 406, and 408, thesecond wireless earbud 114, the third wireless earbud 118, and thefourth wireless earbud 120 are all set to passively receive (e.g., bylistening or sniffing) data transmitted from the source device 122 onthe first communication channel 124. In one example, the first wirelessearbud 112, the second wireless earbud 114, the third wireless earbud118, and the fourth wireless earbud 120 wait to receive data at thebeginning of a slot (e.g., the next Rx slot after the signal S320 isreceived).

At 410, the first wireless earbud 112 pauses the waiting to receive onthe first communication channel 124 pursuant to a channel-switch setting(e.g., channel-switch setting 220) and switches to transmit to thesecond wireless earbud 114 on another communication channel (e.g.,second communication channel 130). In one example, the first wirelessearbud 112 pauses the waiting on the first communication channel 124 andswitches channels part way through a duration of the slot at which thewaiting began (e.g., partial-slot transition or half-slot transition).For example, if a slot is 625 microseconds, then the first wirelessearbud 112 may wait to receive data on the first communication channel124 for about 100 microseconds before switching channels (e.g., to thesecond communication channel 130) about 312.5 microseconds into theslot. The channel-switch setting may include various types ofinstructions. For example, in one aspect, the channel-switch setting mayinstruct the first wireless earbud 112 to change channel settings fromreceiving on the first communication channel 124 to transmitting on thesecond communication channel 130 during the first slot after audio datahas been received from the source device 122.

In sync with the first wireless earbud 112, at 412, the second wirelessearbud 114 pauses the waiting to passively receive data on the firstcommunication channel 124 pursuant to a channel-switch setting (e.g.,channel-switch setting 232) and switches to receive from the firstwireless earbud 112 on the second communication channel 130. Similar tothe first wireless earbud 112, the second wireless earbud 114 may pausethe waiting to passively receive and switch channels part way through aduration of the slot at which the waiting began (e.g., partial-slottransition or half-slot transition). The first wireless earbud 112 andthe second wireless earbud 114 may be synchronized based on the settingsbeing synced at 306 and 312.

Using the switched-to channel (e.g., the second communication channel130), the first wireless earbud 112 may transmit a signal S414 to thesecond wireless earbud 114, including a message representing a statuscheck or a status inquiry. One potential advantage of switching channelsand sending the message (e.g., S410) at a partial slot (e.g., half slotof an even numbered slot) is efficient utilization of bandwidth. Forexample, in instances in which a responder wireless earbud (e.g., 114)has not missed any packets, the responder wireless earbud may provide aresponsive status update at the next designated Tx slot (e.g., sometimesan odd numbered slot), after which both earbuds may return to thelistening on the first communication channel 124 at the subsequent Rxslot (e.g. next even numbered slot), not having missed any Rx slots. Inaddition, switching at partial slots after listening on the firstcommunication channel 124 may help to synchronize channel-switching withthe transmission of audio data on the first communication channel 124.That is, if the switching is timed based on when audio data is not beingreceived from the source device 122, then the wireless earbuds may beless likely to miss packets when switching. In other instances, anunderlying hardware architecture may provide support for this type ofscheme, in which the same switched-to communication channel may be usedby the first wireless earbud 112 to check in with each of the otherwireless earbuds.

Once the first wireless earbud 112 and the second wireless earbud 114are on the same channel and exchanging data, additional operations maybe executed to provide the second wireless earbud 114 with any missedpackets. For example, the process 400 includes, at 416, the secondwireless earbud 114 identifying any missed audio data. For example, thesecond wireless earbud 114 may identify the sequence number of the lastfully received packet of audio data (e.g., last fully received packetreceived via passive receiving on the first communication channel 124).In addition, at 416, the second wireless earbud 114 may also compile abitmap (e.g., of up to 64 bits representing 64 packets) representing anypackets received after the sequence number and packets missed after thesequence number. For example, in the bitmap, a 1 may indicate a receivedpacket and a 0 may represent a missed packet.

The second wireless earbud 114 transmits a signal S418, which the firstwireless earbud 112 receives, at 420, and the signal S418 may includedata indicating whether the second wireless earbud 114 missed any audiopackets, and if so, which ones. For example, in the example provided byFIG. 3, the second wireless earbud 114 did not miss any packets includedin signals S320, S326, or S332, and as such, the signal S418 mayindicate to the first wireless device 112 that no packets were missed(e.g., acknowledgement (ACK) back). Alternatively, if the secondwireless earbud 114 had missed any packets, the signal S418 may includethe sequence number and the bitmap (if any), which the first wirelessearbud 112 may use to retrieve missed audio and forward to the secondwireless earbud 114. Once received by the second wireless earbud 114,the second wireless earbud 114 may transmit an ACK or other messageindicating to the first wireless earbud 112 that the second wirelessearbud 114 received the audio packets and triggering the first wirelessearbud 112 to switch to another communication channel (e.g., back to thefirst communication channel 124).

In one aspect of the disclosure, while the first wireless earbud 112 ischecking in with the second wireless earbud 114 (e.g., in the sameslots), the third wireless earbud 118 is checking in with the fourthwireless earbud 120 using a similar partial-slot mechanism. Byperforming these operations in parallel, the multiple pairs of earbudsefficiently use bandwidth and time and may reduce the likelihood of datacollisions, since the pairs are using different communication channels(e.g., different piconets) to check in. For example, at 422, the thirdwireless earbud 114 pauses the waiting to passively receive on the firstcommunication channel 124 pursuant to a channel-switch setting (e.g.,channel-switch setting 244) and switches to transmit to the fourthwireless earbud 120 on another communication channel (e.g., fourthcommunication channel 142). In one example, the third wireless earbud118 pauses the waiting on the first communication channel 124 andswitches channels part way through a duration of the slot at which thewaiting began (e.g., partial-slot transition or half-slot transition).For example, if a slot is 625 microseconds, then the third wirelessearbud 118 may wait to receive data on the first communication channel124 for about 100 microseconds before switching channels (e.g., to thesecond communication channel 130) about 312.5 microseconds into theslot. The channel-switch setting may include various types ofinstructions. For example, in one aspect, the channel-switch setting mayinstruct the third wireless earbud 118 to change channel settings fromreceiving on the first communication channel 124 to transmitting on thefourth communication channel 142 during the first slot after audio datahas been received from the source device 122.

In sync with the third wireless earbud 118, at 424, the fourth wirelessearbud 120 pauses the waiting to passively receive data on the firstcommunication channel 124 pursuant to a channel-switch setting (e.g.,channel-switch setting 256) and switches to receive from the thirdwireless earbud 118 on the fourth communication channel 142. Similar tothe third wireless earbud 118, the fourth wireless earbud 120 may pausethe waiting to passively receive and switch channels part way through aduration of the slot at which the waiting began (e.g., partial-slottransition or half-slot transition). The third wireless earbud 118 andthe fourth wireless earbud 120 may be synchronized based on the settingsbeing synced at 314 and 318.

Using the switched-to channel (e.g., the fourth communication channel142), the third wireless earbud 118 may transmit a signal S426 to thefourth wireless earbud 120, including a message representing a statuscheck or a status inquiry. As indicated above, one potential advantageof switching channels and sending the message (e.g., S426) at a partialslot (e.g., half slot of an even numbered slot) is efficient utilizationof bandwidth. In addition, switching at partial slots after listening onthe first communication channel 124 may help to synchronizechannel-switching with the transmission of audio data on the firstcommunication channel 124, and reduce the likelihood of missing packetswhen switched away from waiting to passively receive data on the firstcommunication channel 124.

Once the third wireless earbud 118 and the fourth wireless earbud 120are on the same channel and exchanging data, additional operations maybe executed to provide the fourth wireless earbud 120 with any missedpackets that may have been passively received by the third wirelessearbud 118. For example, the process 400 includes, at 428, the fourthwireless earbud 120 identifying any missed audio data. For example, thefourth wireless earbud 120 may identify the sequence number of the lastfully received packet of audio data (e.g., last fully received packetreceived via passive receiving on the first communication channel 124).In addition, at 428, the fourth wireless earbud 120 may also compile abitmap (e.g., of up to 64 bits representing 64 packets) representing anypackets received after the sequence number and packets missed after thesequence number. For example, in the bitmap, a 1 may indicate a receivedpacket and a 0 may represent a missed packet.

The fourth wireless earbud 120 transmits a signal S430, which the thirdwireless earbud 112 receives, at 432, and the signal S430 may includedata indicating whether the fourth wireless earbud 120 missed any audiopackets, and if so, which ones. For example, in the example provided byFIG. 3, the fourth wireless earbud 120 failed, at 330, to passivelyreceive at least some of the audio packets in the signal S326, and at338, the fourth wireless earbud 120 failed to passively receive at leastsome of the audio packets in the signal S332. As such, the signal S430may include respective sequence number(s) and the bitmap(s), which thethird wireless earbud 118 may, at 434, use to retrieve (e.g., from abuffer, such as a controller buffer or a circular buffer) missed audioand forward to the fourth wireless earbud 120 in a signal S436. Forexample, FIG. 3 indicates that the third wireless earbud passivelyreceived the audio data in the signal S326, and as such, the thirdwireless earbud 118 may forward a copy of that audio data to the fourthwireless earbud 120 in the signal S436. Once received by the fourthwireless earbud 120, the fourth wireless earbud 120 may transmit an ACKor other message indicating to the third wireless earbud 118 that thefourth wireless earbud 120 received the audio packets and triggering thethird wireless earbud 118 to switch to another communication channel(e.g., back to the first communication channel 124). If the fourthwireless earbud 120 missed audio data (e.g., S332 in FIG. 3) that wasalso not passively received (or otherwise received) by the thirdwireless earbud 118, then the third wireless earbud 118 may stillforward the missed audio data to the fourth wireless earbud 120 at asubsequent check in, such as after the third wireless earbud 118 hasreceived that audio data from the first wireless earbud 112 (e.g., asdescribed in FIGS. 4B, 4C, and 4D).

Referring to FIG. 4B, the process 400 continues after the first pair ofwireless earbuds 112 and 114 have checked in using one piconet (e.g.,the second communication channel 130), and the second pair of wirelessearbuds 118 and 120 have checked in using another piconet (e.g., thefourth communication channel 142). In FIG. 4B, the first wireless earbud112 and the third wireless earbud 118 may switch to a communicationchannel (e.g., the sixth communication channel 154) to exchangecommunications. For example, at 438, the first wireless earbud 112detects an occurrence (e.g., start or end) of a programmed interval,such as a T_poll or an n-slot interval (e.g., 36-slot interval), where nis defined in the channel-switch settings 220. In parallel with thefirst wireless earbud 112, the third wireless earbud 118, at 440,detects an occurrence (e.g., start or end) of the programmed interval.As previously indicated, the channel-switch settings may be synced withthe first wireless earbud 112, such that both the first wireless earbud112 and the third wireless earbud 118 are detecting the same n-slotinterval (e.g., T_poll dictating when to switch communication channels).The variable n may vary depending on a desired check-in frequency. Forexample, the periodic programmed interval may be timed independently ofsource-device transmissions, such that each interval of n slots iscounted or starts regardless of what transmissions are currently beingsent by the source device 122. In other instances, the periodicprogrammed interval may be based on when the source device 122 beginstransmitting data (e.g., n slots after the source device startstransmitting audio data). In addition, the first wireless earbud 112 andthe third wireless earbud 118 may each include a counter (e.g.,Programmed Interval Counter (PIC)) or other module to track the passageof each slot and determine when a new programmed interval begins.

The process 400 includes, at 442, the first wireless earbud 112switching, at the programmed interval (e.g., at the transition from afirst programmed interval to a successive second programmed interval orwhen the first programmed interval lapses or when the successive secondprogrammed interval begins), to a communication channel (e.g., the sixthcommunication channel 154) communicatively coupling the first wirelessearbud 112 with the third wireless earbud 118. In parallel, at 444, thethird wireless earbud 118 switches at the programmed interval to thecommunication channel communicatively coupling the first wireless earbud112 with the third wireless earbud 118 (e.g., the sixth communicationchannel 154). For example, the first wireless earbud 112 and the thirdwireless earbud 118 may switch from the first communication channel 124to the sixth communication channel 154 at similar instances irrespectiveof whether audio data is being received from the source device 122. Thefirst wireless earbud 112 may then transmit a signal S446 to the thirdwireless earbud 118, including a message indicating a status check orstatus inquiry. At this stage in the process 400, the programmedinterval is the trigger for switching to the sixth communication channel154, as opposed to a partial slot after listening on the firstcommunication channel. In this manner, the switching may be independentof transmitting or receiving occurring on the first communicationchannel 124, or at least timed more predictably (e.g., 20 slots afterthe source device transmits an audio packet). Among other things, usinga programmed interval may provide more predictability as to when thewireless earbuds may switch channels, since the switching is not asdirectly tied to irregularly switching after waiting to receive orpassively receive. In some instances, this timing may reduce alikelihood of interference. Once the first wireless earbud 112 and thethird wireless earbud 118 are on the same channel and exchanging data,additional steps may be performed to forward missing packets.

In a further aspect, similar to signal exchanges described above, at448, the third wireless earbud 118 identifies any missed audio data,such as by identifying the sequence number of the last fully receivedpacket of audio data and compiling a bitmap representing any packetsreceived after the sequence number and packets missed after the sequencenumber. The identified missed audio data may also include audio datamissed by the fourth wireless earbud (as identified in the signal S430).For example, as indicated in FIG. 3, the third wireless earbud 118missed at least some audio packets in the signal S320 and in the signalS332, and the fourth wireless earbud also missed at least some audiopackets in the signal S332. The third wireless earbud transmits a signalS450 to the first wireless earbud 112 (e.g., as a status update)indicating any missed audio, and the first wireless earbud 112, at 452,receives the indication of any missed audio (e.g., the one or moresequence numbers and one or more bitmaps). After the first wirelessearbud 112 receives the signal S450, the process 400 may include atleast a couple of alternative operations further illustrated in FIGS. 4Cand 4D.

Referring now to FIG. 4C, the process 400 may include one set ofalternative operations for sharing audio that may be performed after thefirst wireless earbud 112 receives the signal S450. That is, in oneexample, while the first wireless earbud 112 and the third wirelessearbud 118 are both still transmitting or receiving via the sixthcommunication channel 154 (e.g., as indicated in FIG. 4B and the relateddescription), at 454, the first wireless earbud 112 compares thesequence number(s) and bitmap(s) to a buffer (e.g., controller buffer,circular buffer, etc.) to retrieve the missed audio data represented bya 0 in the bitmap(s). The first wireless earbud 112 transmits a signalS456, including the missed audio data, to the third wireless earbud 118,and the audio data may relate to packets missed by the third wirelessearbud 118. After the third wireless earbud 118 acknowledges receipt ofthe signal S456, the wireless earbuds 112 and 118 may switch to anotherchannel (e.g., return to waiting on the first communication channel 124or checking in with another wireless earbud).

In one aspect of the disclosure, the fourth wireless earbud 120 maypassively receive audio data (e.g., signal S456) transmitted from thefirst wireless earbud 112 to the third wireless earbud 118 using thesixth communication channel 154 (as indicated by the dashed signal linefrom the signal S456 to the fourth wireless earbud 120). For example, ifthe first wireless earbud 112 is forwarding, in the signal S456, a copyof the audio data that had been in signal S332, which was missed by boththe third wireless earbud 118 and the fourth wireless earbud 120, thenthe fourth wireless earbud 120 may attempt to sniff the signal S456 tocapture the missed audio data. However, in some instances, the fourthwireless earbud 120 may not have the hardware capabilities to passivelyreceive audio data (e.g., sniff or listen) on both the firstcommunication channel 124 and the sixth communication channel 154between the first wireless earbud 112 and the third wireless earbud 118.Or the fourth wireless earbud 120 may still fail to receive all of thepackets despite attempts to passively receive audio data transmitted onthe sixth communication channel 154. As such, the process 400 mayadditionally include the third wireless earbud 118 and the fourthwireless earbud 120 engaging in another partial-slot check-in at asubsequent instant in time (e.g., after switching to passively receivingon the first communication channel 124) to provide another opportunityfor the fourth wireless earbud 120 to request and receive the missedpackets. For example, the third wireless earbud 118 and the fourthwireless earbud 120 may repeat the steps of the process 400 identifiedin FIG. 4A, in which case, the third wireless earbud 118 may transmitthe signal S436 to the fourth wireless earbud 120, the signal S436including a copy of the audio data that had been in signal S332.

Referring now to FIG. 4D, another alternative set of operations aredepicted that may be carried out as an alternative to the operations inFIG. 4C and that may facilitate the sharing of audio data originatingfrom the source device 122. In FIG. 4D, after the first wireless earbud112 receives the signal S450, the first wireless earbud 112 and thethird wireless earbud 118 may change channel settings to no longercommunicate via the sixth communication channel 154. At 458, the firstwireless earbud 112 may change channel settings to exchangecommunications with the source device 122 on the first communicationchannel 124. Furthermore, at 460, 462, and 464, each of the secondwireless earbud 114, the third wireless earbud 118, and the fourthwireless earbud 120 may change channel settings to passively receiveaudio data on the first communication channel 124. With each of thewireless earbuds 112, 114, 118, and 120 set to receive (e.g., directlyor passively) audio data on the first communication channel 124, theoperations depicted in FIG. 4A may be repeated at 466. For example, eachof the earbuds may directly or passively receive audio data via thefirst communication channel 124; the first pair of wireless earbuds 112and 114 may check in with one another via the second communicationchannel 130; and the second pair of wireless earbuds 118 and 120 maycheck in with one another via the fourth communication channel 142.

Continuing with FIG. 4D, the first wireless earbud 112 and the thirdwireless earbud 118 may switch to a communication channel (e.g., thesixth communication channel 154) to exchange communications. Forexample, at 468, the first wireless earbud 112 detects an occurrence(e.g., start or end) of a programmed interval, similar to the operationsdescribed with respect to 438 in FIG. 4B. Similarly, at 470, the thirdwireless earbud 118 also detects the programmed interval. At 442, thefirst wireless earbud 112 switches, at the programmed interval (e.g., atthe transition from a first programmed interval to a successive secondprogrammed interval or when the first programmed interval lapses or whenthe successive second programmed interval begins), to a communicationchannel (e.g., the sixth communication channel 154) communicativelycoupling the first wireless earbud 112 with the third wireless earbud118. In parallel, at 474, the third wireless earbud 118 switches at theprogrammed interval to the communication channel communicativelycoupling the first wireless earbud 112 with the third wireless earbud118 (e.g., the sixth communication channel 154).

Using the sixth communication channel 154, the first wireless earbud 112and the third wireless earbud 118 exchange signals S476 and S478 toverify the communicative connection. Recall that the third wirelessearbud 118 already provided an indication of missed audio data via thesignal S450 that was received by the first wireless earbud at 452. At480, the first wireless earbud 112 may compare the sequence number(s)and bitmap(s) to a buffer (e.g., controller buffer, circular buffer,etc.) to retrieve the missed audio data represented by a 0 in thebitmap(s). The first wireless earbud 112 transmits a signal S482,including the missed audio data, to the third wireless earbud 118, andthe audio data may relate to packets missed by the third wireless earbud118. After the third wireless earbud 118 acknowledges receipt of thesignal S456, the wireless earbuds 112 and 118 may switch to anotherchannel (e.g., return to waiting on the first communication channel 124or checking in with another wireless earbud). As described with respectto FIG. 4C, the fourth wireless earbud 120 may passively receive theaudio data in the signal S482 (as indicated by the dash-line arrow). Inaddition, or alternatively, the third wireless earbud 118 may providethe audio data in the signal S482 to the fourth wireless earbud 120 whenthe two earbuds subsequently check in with one another on the fourthcommunication channel 142, such as by the operations depicted in FIG.4A.

The method 400 is extensible to more than two pairs of wireless earbuds.For example, audio data from the source device 122 may be shared withadditional pairs of earbuds by providing the synchronizationinformation, including a discrete communication channel between thefirst wireless earbud 112 and one of the earbuds in each additionalpair. Furthermore, variations of the method 400 are described above, andhardware architecture and capabilities may factor into which operationsor alternative solutions are executed. For example, in one solutiondescribed above, the fourth wireless earbud 120 sniffs on audio packetstransmitted from the first wireless earbud 112 to the third wirelessearbud 118, whereas in an alternative approach, the fourth wirelessearbud 120 may wait to receive audio packets at a subsequent check inwith the third wireless earbud 118. Among other things, the hardware ofthe fourth wireless earbud 120 may factor into which solution isexecuted (e.g., depending on whether the fourth wireless earbud 120 maysniff on multiple channels in this manner). In addition, FIG. 4Crepresents one possible set of operations, whereas FIG. 4D represents adifferent possible set of operations. But both FIGS. 4C and 4D aredirected to the transmitting of missed audio data from the firstwireless earbud 112 to the third wireless earbud 118, and theimplementation of each may depend on the capabilities of the underlyinghardware.

Referring now to FIG. 5A, FIG. 5A illustrates a signal diagram ofanother example process 500 for sharing audio provided via a wirelesscommunication protocol (e.g., Bluetooth) by a source device 122. Inparticular, the process 500 includes elements related to the firstwireless earbud 112 checking in with each of the second wireless earbud114, the third wireless earbud 118, and the fourth wireless earbud 120,such as after the process 300 is executed or as a continuation of theprocess 300.

The process 500 may include some initial elements that are similar tothe process 400, such as when the first wireless earbud 112 checks inwith the second wireless earbud 114. The process 500 is different fromthe process 400 in the manner in which the first wireless earbud checksin with the third wireless earbud 118 and the fourth wireless earbud120. For example, the process 500 includes, at 502, the first wirelessearbud 112 waiting to receive data by way of the first communicationchannel 124 (e.g., via which the source device 122 transmits audiodata). For instance, the first wireless earbud 112 may adjust settings(or leave settings if already set) to tune to a scheduled channel orfrequency consistent with link data received from the source device 122and prepare to receive any data (e.g., audio data) transmitted from thesource device 122 on the first communication channel 124. In parallel,at 504, 506, and 508, the second wireless earbud 114, the third wirelessearbud 118, and the fourth wireless earbud 120 are all set to passivelyreceive (e.g., by listening or sniffing) data transmitted from thesource device 122 on the first communication channel 124. In oneexample, the first wireless earbud 112, the second wireless earbud 114,the third wireless earbud 118, and the fourth wireless earbud 120 waitto receive data at the beginning of a slot (e.g., the next Rx slot afterthe signal S320 is received).

At 510, the first wireless earbud 112 pauses the waiting to receive onthe first communication channel 124 pursuant to a channel-switch setting(e.g., channel-switch setting 220) and switches to transmit to thesecond wireless earbud 114 on another communication channel (e.g.,second communication channel 130). In one example, the first wirelessearbud 112 pauses the waiting on the first communication channel 124 andswitches channels part way through a duration of the slot at which thewaiting began (e.g., partial-slot transition or half-slot transition).For example, if a slot is 625 microseconds, then the first wirelessearbud 112 may wait to receive data on the first communication channel124 for about 100 microseconds before switching channels (e.g., to thesecond communication channel 130) about 312.5 microseconds into theslot.

In sync with the first wireless earbud 112, at 512, the second wirelessearbud 114 pauses the waiting to passively receive data on the firstcommunication channel 124 pursuant to a channel-switch setting (e.g.,channel-switch setting 232) and switches to receive from the firstwireless earbud 112 on the second communication channel 130. Similar tothe first wireless earbud 112, the second wireless earbud 114 may pausethe waiting to passively receive and switch channels part way through aduration of the slot at which the waiting began (e.g., partial-slottransition or half-slot transition). The first wireless earbud 112 andthe second wireless earbud 114 may be synchronized based on the settingsbeing synced at 306 and 312. In a further aspect, the third wirelessearbud 118 and the fourth wireless earbud 120 may also, at 513 a and 513b, change channel settings to the second communication channel 130(e.g., based on the partial-slot timing), although in some instances,the first wireless earbud 112 may not actually communicate any datadirectly to the third wireless earbud 118 or the fourth wireless earbud120, at least not at this point in the process 500. In this sense, theremay be less precise timing or synchronization between the first wirelessearbud 112 and the other wireless earbuds 114, 118, and 120, such thatthe other wireless earbuds automatically switch to the secondcommunication channel 130 according to the partial-slottiming/mechanism, regardless of whether the first wireless earbud 112exchanges communications directly with the earbud during those slots.

Using the switched-to channel (e.g., the second communication channel130), the first wireless earbud 112 may transmit a signal S514 to thesecond wireless earbud 114, including a message representing a statuscheck or a status inquiry. At 516, the second wireless earbud 114identifies any missed audio data. For example, the second wirelessearbud 114 may identify the sequence number of the last fully receivedpacket of audio data (e.g., last fully received packet received viapassive receiving on the first communication channel 124) and compile abitmap (e.g., of up to 64 bits representing 64 packets) representing anypackets received after the sequence number and packets missed after thesequence number. The second wireless earbud 114 transmits a signal S518,which the first wireless earbud 112 receives, at 520, and the signalS518 may include data indicating whether the second wireless earbud 114missed any audio packets, and if so, which ones. For example, in theexample provided by FIG. 3, the second wireless earbud 114 did not missany packets included in signals S320, S326, or S332, and as such, thesignal S518 may indicate to the first wireless device 112 that nopackets were missed (e.g., acknowledgement (ACK) back). Alternatively,if the second wireless earbud 114 had missed any packets, the signalS518 may include the sequence number and the bitmap (if any), which thefirst wireless earbud 112 may use to retrieve missed audio and forwardto the second wireless earbud 114. Once the check-in between the firstwireless earbud 112 and the second wireless earbud 114 is complete(e.g., the first wireless earbud 112 receives an ACK), the wirelessearbuds 112 and 114 may switch to another communication channel (e.g.,back to the first communication channel 124), and as depicted in FIG.5A, the process 500 continues with FIG. 5B.

Referring to FIG. 5B, each of the first wireless earbud 112 (at 522),the second wireless earbud 114 (at 524), the third wireless earbud 118(at 526), and the fourth wireless earbud 120 (at 528) may check back onthe first communication channel 124 to receive (or passively receive)any audio data from the source device 122 (e.g., at the beginning of aslot, such as the next Rx slot after the first wireless earbud 112 andthe second wireless earbud 114 switch from the second communicationchannel 130). When no audio data is receive from the source device 122,at 530, the first wireless earbud 112 pauses the waiting to receive onthe first communication channel 124 pursuant to a channel-switch setting(e.g., channel-switch setting 220) and switches to transmit to the thirdwireless earbud 118 on another communication channel (e.g., the sixthcommunication channel 154). In one example, the first wireless earbud112 pauses the waiting on the first communication channel 124 andswitches channels part way through a duration of the slot at which thewaiting began (e.g., partial-slot transition or half-slot transition).The second communication channel 130 and the sixth communication channel154 may be identified differently to designate that the secondcommunication channel 130 is used to transmit data between the firstwireless earbud 112 and the second wireless earbud, while the sixthcommunication channel 154 is used to transmit data between the firstwireless earbud 112 and the third wireless earbud 118. In one aspect ofthe disclosure, the second communication channel 130 and the sixthcommunication channel 154 may be include the same piconet that is usedat different time instances.

In sync with the first wireless earbud 112, at 532, the third wirelessearbud 118 pauses the waiting to passively receive data on the firstcommunication channel 124 pursuant to a channel-switch setting (e.g.,channel-switch setting 244) and switches to receive from the firstwireless earbud 112 on the sixth communication channel 154. Similar tothe first wireless earbud 112, the third wireless earbud 118 may pausethe waiting to passively receive and switch channels part way through aduration of the slot at which the waiting began (e.g., partial-slottransition or half-slot transition). Furthermore, as described withrespect to FIG. 5A, at 533 a and 533 b, the second wireless earbud 112and the fourth wireless earbud 120 may also change channel settings tothe sixth communication channel 154 (e.g., based on the partial-slottiming), although in some instances, the first wireless earbud 112 maynot communicate any data directly to the second wireless earbud 114 orthe fourth wireless earbud 120, at least not at this point in theprocess 500.

Using the switched-to channel (e.g., the sixth communication channel154), the first wireless earbud 112 may transmit a signal S534 to thethird wireless earbud 118, including a message representing a statuscheck or a status inquiry. At 536, the third wireless earbud 118identifies any missed audio data. For example, the third wireless earbud118 may identify the sequence number of the last fully received packetof audio data (e.g., last fully received packet received via passivereceiving on the first communication channel 124) and compile a bitmap(e.g., of up to 64 bits representing 64 packets) representing anypackets received after the sequence number and packets missed after thesequence number. In the example provided by FIG. 3, the third wirelessearbud 118 missed at least some audio packets in the signal S320 and inthe signal S332. The third wireless earbud 118 transmits a signal S538,which the first wireless earbud 112 receives, at 540, and the signalS538 may include data indicating whether the third wireless earbud 118missed any audio packets, and if so, which ones (e.g., the audio packetsmissed in the signal S320 and in the signal S332). At 542, the firstwireless earbud 112 retrieves (e.g., from a buffer) any audio that wasmissed by the third wireless earbud 118. For example, the first wirelessearbud 112 may compare the sequence number and bitmap to a buffer (e.g.,controller buffer, circular buffer, etc.) to retrieve the missed audiodata represented by a 0 in the bitmap. According to FIG. 3, the firstwireless earbud 112 may have already received the audio data at 322 and334 in the process 300 and may retrieve copies to be forwarded to thethird wireless earbud 118. The first wireless earbud 112 transmits asignal S544, including the missed audio data, to the third wirelessearbud 118.

In one aspect of the disclosure, the fourth wireless earbud 120 maylisten or sniff the communication channel between the first wirelessearbud 112 and the third wireless earbud 118 to try and passivelyreceive any missed audio-data packets. However, in some instances, theaudio data forwarded from the first wireless earbud 112 to the thirdwireless earbud 118 may not include the same packets missed by thefourth wireless earbud 120; the fourth wireless earbud 120 may not havethe hardware capabilities to sniff on both the first communicationchannel and the communication channel between the first wireless earbud112 and the third wireless earbud 118; and/or the fourth wireless earbud120 may still fail to receive all of the packets despite sniffingefforts. As such, the process 500 may proceed, as indicated in FIG. 5C,to include operations by which the first wireless earbud 112 checks inwith the fourth wireless earbud 120.

FIG. 5C depicts steps in the process including the first wireless earbud112 checking in with the fourth wireless earbud 120 using timing andsynchronization similar to the check-in process with the third wirelessearbud 118. For example, each of the first wireless earbud 112 (at 546),the second wireless earbud 114 (at 548), the third wireless earbud 118(at 550), and the fourth wireless earbud 120 (at 552) may first checkback on the first communication channel 124 to receive (or passivelyreceive) any audio data from the source device 122 (e.g., at thebeginning of a slot). When no audio data is receive from the sourcedevice 122, at 554, the first wireless earbud 112 pauses the waiting toreceive on the first communication channel 124 pursuant to achannel-switch setting (e.g., channel-switch setting 220) and switchesto transmit to the fourth wireless earbud 120 on another communicationchannel (e.g., seventh communication channel 160). In one example, thefirst wireless earbud 112 pauses the waiting on the first communicationchannel 124 and switches channels part way through a duration of theslot at which the waiting began (e.g., partial-slot transition orhalf-slot transition). The second communication channel 130, the sixthcommunication channel 154, and the seventh communication channel 160 maybe identified differently to designate a channel used by the firstwireless earbud to communicate with the second wireless earbud 114, thethird wireless earbud 118, and the fourth wireless earbud 120,respectively. In one aspect of the disclosure, the second communicationchannel 130, the sixth communication channel 154, and the seventhcommunication channel 160 may include the same piconet that is used atdifferent time instances by the first wireless earbud 112 to communicatewith different wireless earbuds.

In sync with the first wireless earbud 112, at 556, the fourth wirelessearbud 120 pauses the waiting to passively receive data on the firstcommunication channel 124 pursuant to a channel-switch setting (e.g.,channel-switch setting 256) and switches to receive from the firstwireless earbud 112 on the seventh communication channel 160. Similar tothe first wireless earbud 112, the fourth wireless earbud 120 may pausethe waiting to passively receive and switch channels part way through aduration of the slot at which the waiting began (e.g., partial-slottransition or half-slot transition). Furthermore, as described withrespect to FIGS. 5A and 5B, at 557 a and 557 b, the second wirelessearbud 112 and the third wireless earbud 118 may also change channelsettings to the seventh communication channel 154 (e.g., based on thepartial-slot timing), although in some instances, the first wirelessearbud 112 may not communicate any data directly to the second wirelessearbud 114 or the third wireless earbud 118, at least not at this pointin the process 500.

Using the switched-to channel (e.g., the seventh communication channel160), the first wireless earbud 112 may transmit a signal S558 to thefourth wireless earbud 120, including a status check or status inquiry.The process 500 includes, at 560, the fourth wireless earbud 120identifies any missed audio data. For example, the fourth wirelessearbud 120 may identify the sequence number of the last fully receivedpacket of audio data (e.g., last fully received packet received viapassive receiving on the first communication channel 124) and compile abitmap (e.g., of up to 64 bits representing 64 packets) representing anypackets received after the sequence number and packets missed after thesequence number. In the example provided by FIG. 3, the fourth wirelessearbud 120 missed at least some audio packets in the signal S326 and inthe signal S332. The fourth wireless earbud 118 transmits a signal S562,which the first wireless earbud 112 receives, at 564, and the signalS562 may include data indicating whether the fourth wireless earbud 120missed any audio packets, and if so, which ones (e.g., the audio packetsmissed in the signal S326 and in the signal S332). At 566, the firstwireless earbud 112 retrieves (e.g., from a buffer) any audio that wasmissed by the fourth wireless earbud 120 (e.g., as indicated in thesignal S562). For example, the first wireless earbud 112 may compare thesequence number and bitmap to a buffer (e.g., controller buffer,circular buffer, etc.) to retrieve the missed audio data represented bya 0 in the bitmap. According to FIG. 3, the first wireless earbud 112may have already received the audio data at 328 and 334 in the process300 and may retrieve copies to be forwarded to the fourth wirelessearbud 120. The first wireless earbud 112 transmits a signal S568,including the missed audio data, to the fourth wireless earbud 120.After the fourth wireless earbud 120 acknowledges receipt of the signalS568, the wireless earbuds 112 and 120 may return to waiting to receivedata on the first communication channel 124.

The method 500 is extensible to more than two pairs of wireless earbudsor more than four wireless earbuds or more than four speakers. Forexample, audio data from the source device 122 may be shared withadditional pairs of earbuds or speakers by providing the synchronizationinformation. Each of the wireless earbuds or speakers may switch over tothe second communication channel (e.g., piconet different from thepiconet between the first wireless earbud and the source device 122)according to the partial-slot timing and the first wireless earbud orspeaker may sequentially check in with each earbud or speaker.

Now referring to FIGS. 6-8, methods 600, 700, and 800 are depicted, andeach block of the methods 600, 700, and 800 comprises a computingprocess that may be performed using any combination of hardware,firmware, and/or software. For instance, various functions may becarried out by a processor executing instructions stored in memory. Themethod may also be embodied as computer-usable instructions stored oncomputer storage media. The method may be provided by a standaloneapplication and a part of a larger application. In addition, methods600, 700, and 800 are described, by way of example, with respect to theelements in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 5A, 5B, and 5C. However, this methodmay additionally or alternatively be executed by any one system, or anycombination of systems, including, but not limited to, those describedherein.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing a method 600 for sharing audio providedby a source device. For example, the method 600 may be performed by anaudio system including a first pair of wireless earbuds comprising afirst wireless earbud (e.g., 112) and a second wireless earbud (e.g.,114) that exchange data via a first communication channel (e.g., 130).The audio system may also include a second pair of wireless earbudscomprising a third wireless earbud (e.g., 118) and a fourth wirelessearbud (e.g., 120) that exchange data via a second communication channel(e.g., 142), which is different from the first communication channel.

The method 600, at operation 602, includes receiving first audio datafrom a source device via a third communication channel, which isdifferent from the first communication channel and the secondcommunication channel. For example, the first wireless earbud 112 mayreceive first audio data S320, S326, and/or S332 from the source device122 via a communication channel 124, which is different from thecommunication channel 130 and different from the communication channel142.

The method 600, at operation 604, includes receiving, from the secondwireless earbud, a first message indicating that the second wirelessearbud received the first audio data. For example, the first wirelessearbud 112 may exchange, via the communication channel 130, messagesS414 and S418 indicating whether the second wireless earbud 114passively received the first audio data S320, S326, and/or S332.

The method 600, at operation 606, includes receiving, via a fourthcommunication channel and from the third wireless earbud, a secondmessage indicating that the first audio data was not received by thethird wireless earbud. For example, the first wireless earbud 112 mayexchange, via the communication channel 154 and with the third wirelessearbud 118, second messages S446 and S450 indicating that the firstaudio data S320 and S332 was not passively received by the thirdwireless earbud 118.

The method 600, at operation 608, includes transmitting a copy of thefirst audio data to the third wireless earbud via the fourthcommunication channel. For example, the first wireless headphone 112 maytransmit a copy of the first audio data S456 to the third wirelessearbud 118 via the communication channel 154.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram showing a method 700 for sharing audio dataamong a first pair of wireless earbuds, which includes a first wirelessearbud and a second wireless earbud, and a second pair of wirelessearbuds, which includes a third wireless earbud and a fourth wirelessearbud. For example, audio data may be shared among a first pair ofwireless earbuds, which includes a first wireless earbud 112 and asecond wireless earbud 114, and a second pair of wireless earbuds, whichincludes a third wireless earbud 118 and a fourth wireless earbud 120.

The method 700, at operation 702, includes establishing, by the firstwireless earbud, a first communication channel with a source device. Forexample, the first wireless earbud 112 may exchange data (e.g., linkdata 126, device ID, etc.) with the source device 122 and adjustsettings communicate using the first communication channel 124.

The method 700, at operation 704, includes sending link data associatedwith the first communication channel to the second wireless earbud, thethird wireless earbud, and the fourth wireless earbud. For example, linkdata 134 may be forwarded to the second wireless earbud 114 in thesignal S308, and link data 156 may be forwarded to the third wirelessearbud 118 in the signal S310. In addition, the link data 146 may beforwarded (e.g. from the third wireless headphone 118) to the fourthwireless earbud 120 in the signal S316, or the link data 162 may beforwarded from the first wireless earbud 112 to the fourth wirelessearbud 120.

The method 700, at operation 706, includes synchronizing, by each of thesecond wireless earbud, the third wireless earbud, and the fourthwireless, respective channel settings based on the link data. Forexample, the second wireless earbud 114 may sync settings at 312; thethird wireless earbud 118 may sync settings at 314; and the fourthwireless earbud 120 may sync settings at 318.

The method 700, at operation 708, includes receiving, by the firstwireless earbud via the first communication channel, first audio datafrom the source device. For example, the first wireless earbud 112receives via the communication channel 124 the first audio data S320,S326, and S332 from the source device 122. At that time, and the secondwireless earbud 112, the third wireless earbud 118, and the fourthwireless earbud 120 may be set to passively receive (as depicted by thedash-line arrows in FIG. 3) the first audio data based on syncing to thefirst communication channel 124.

The method 700, at operation 710, includes receiving, by the firstwireless earbud and via a second communication channel, a first messagefrom the second wireless earbud indicating that the second wirelessearbud received the first audio data. For example, the first wirelessearbud 112 may exchange, via the communication channel 130, messagesS414 and S418 indicating whether the second wireless earbud 114passively received the first audio data S320, S326, and/or S332,including the message in signal S418 that may indicate the secondwireless earbud 114 received the audio data.

The method 700, at operation 712, includes receiving, by the firstwireless earbud and via a third communication channel, a second messagefrom the third wireless earbud indicating that the first audio data wasnot received by the third wireless earbud. For example, the firstwireless earbud 112 may exchange, via the communication channel 154 andwith the third wireless earbud 118, second messages S446 and S450indicating that the first audio data S320 and S332 was not passivelyreceived by the third wireless earbud 118, including the message insignal S450 that may indicate audio data was not received.

The method 700, at operation 714, includes transmitting, by the firstwireless earbud and via the third communication channel, a copy of thefirst audio data to the third wireless earbud. For example, the firstwireless headphone 112 may transmit a copy of the first audio data S456to the third wireless earbud 118 using the communication channel 154.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram showing a method 800 for sharing audio dataamong a first pair of wireless earbuds, which includes a first wirelessearbud and a second wireless earbud, and a second pair of wirelessearbuds, which includes a third wireless earbud and a fourth wirelessearbud. For example, audio data may be shared among a first pair ofwireless earbuds, which includes a first wireless earbud 112 and asecond wireless earbud 114, and a second pair of wireless earbuds, whichincludes a third wireless earbud 118 and a fourth wireless earbud 120.

The method 800, at operation 802, includes establishing, by the firstwireless earbud, a first communication channel with a source device. Forexample, the first wireless earbud 112 may exchange data (e.g., linkdata 126, device ID, etc.) with the source device 122 and adjustsettings communicate using the first communication channel 124.

The method 800, at operation 804, includes sending link data associatedwith the first communication channel to the second wireless earbud, thethird wireless earbud, and the fourth wireless earbud. For example, linkdata 134 may be forwarded to the second wireless earbud 114 in thesignal S308, and link data 156 may be forwarded to the third wirelessearbud 118 in the signal S310. In addition, the link data 146 may beforwarded (e.g. from the third wireless headphone 118) to the fourthwireless earbud 120 in the signal S316, or the link data 162 may beforwarded from the first wireless earbud 112 to the fourth wirelessearbud 120.

The method 800, at operation 806, includes synchronizing, by each of thesecond wireless earbud, the third wireless earbud, and the fourthwireless, respective channel settings based on the link data. Forexample, the second wireless earbud 114 may sync settings at 312; thethird wireless earbud 118 may sync settings at 314; and the fourthwireless earbud 120 may sync settings at 318.

The method 800, at operation 808, includes receiving, by the firstwireless earbud via the first communication channel, first audio datafrom the source device. For example, the first wireless earbud 112receives via the communication channel 124 the first audio data S320,S326, and S332 from the source device 122. At that stage, the secondwireless earbud 112, the third wireless earbud 118, and the fourthwireless earbud 120 may be set to passively receive (as depicted by thedash-line arrows in FIG. 3) the first audio data based on syncing to thefirst communication channel 124.

The method 800, at operation 810, includes receiving, by the firstwireless earbud and via a second communication channel, a first messagefrom the second wireless earbud indicating the second wireless earbuddid not receive the first audio data. For example, the first wirelessearbud 112 may exchange, via the communication channel 130, messagesS514 and S518 indicating whether the second wireless earbud 114passively received the first audio data S320, S326, and/or S332. If thesecond wireless earbud 114 fails to passively receive any of the firstaudio data (e.g., when sniffing), then the first wireless earbud 112 mayforward a copy of the first audio data that was missed using thecommunication channel 130 (e.g., see message exchange in FIG. 5A betweenthe first wireless earbud 112 and the second wireless earbud 114). Forexample, at operation 812, the method 800 includes sending, by the firstwireless earbud to the second wireless earbud, a first copy of the firstaudio data.

The method 800, at operation 814, includes receiving, by the firstwireless earbud and via the second communication channel, a secondmessage from the third wireless earbud indicating the third wirelessearbud did not receive the first audio data. For example, the firstwireless earbud 112 may exchange, via the communication channel 154(which may be the same piconet as communication channel 130, just at adifferent time period), messages S534 and S538 indicating whether thethird wireless earbud 118 passively received the first audio data S320,S326, and/or S332. If the third wireless earbud 114 fails to passivelyreceive any of the first audio data (e.g., when sniffing), then thefirst wireless earbud 112 may forward a copy of the first audio dataS544 that was missed using the communication channel 130 (e.g., seemessage exchange in FIG. 5B between the first wireless earbud 112 andthe second wireless earbud 118). For example, at 816, the method 800includes sending, by the first wireless earbud to the third wirelessearbud, a second copy of the first audio data.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example architecture of awireless earbud 902 (e.g., the first wireless earbud 112, the secondwireless earbud 114, the third wireless earbud 118, or the fourthwireless earbud 120), including components that may be usable inimplementing aspects of this disclosure (e.g., sharing audio provided bya source device). The wireless earbud 902 may include an interconnectsystem 922 that directly or indirectly couples the following devices:processor(s) 904, in-ear microphone(s) 906, exterior microphone(s) 908,speaker(s) 910, buffer(s), computer-readable media 914, operating system916, power supply 918, and network interface(s) 920.

Although the various blocks of FIG. 9 are shown as connected via theinterconnect system 922 with lines, this is not intended to be limitingand is for clarity only. For example, one or more components may becombined or one of the components may include multiple components. Theinterconnect system 922 may represent one or more links or busses, suchas an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, or a combination thereof.The interconnect system 922 may include one or more bus or link types,such as an industry standard architecture (ISA) bus, an extendedindustry standard architecture (EISA) bus, a video electronics standardsassociation (VESA) bus, a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, aperipheral component interconnect express (PCIe) bus, and/or anothertype of bus or link. In some embodiments, there are direct connectionsbetween components. In other instances, components are indirectlyconnected.

The wireless earbud 902 may include any type of computing device thatmay be positioned in, on, and/or around an ear of a user (e.g., the user110 or the user 116) or otherwise associated with an ear the user. Inthe illustrated implementation, the wireless earbud 902 includes one ormore processors 904 (e.g., processors 210, 222, 234, or 246) configuredto power various components of the wireless earbud 902 and/or performoperations of the wireless earbud 902. Further, the wireless earbud 902may include various hardware-based components, such as one or morein-ear microphones 906, one or more exterior microphones 908, one ormore speaker(s) 910 (e.g., the speaker 214, 226, 238, or 250), one ormore acoustic isolation components, and one or more buffers 912.

The in-ear microphone(s) 906 and exterior microphone(s) 908 may functionas input devices to receive audio input, such as a voice command from auser (e.g., the user 110 or the user 116). The in-ear microphone(s) 906and exterior microphone(s) 908 may comprise any type of component, suchas a transducer, which converts sound into an electrical signal (e.g.,audio data). The in-ear microphone(s) 906 may be positioned on or in thewireless earbud 902 such that the in-ear microphone(s) 906 are able todetect and capture in-ear sound emitting from the ear canal of theuser's ear. The exterior microphone(s) 908 may be positioned on or inthe wireless earbud 902 such that the exterior microphone(s) 908 areable to detect and capture exterior sound emitting from an environmentsurrounding the user. The speaker(s) 910 (e.g., in-ear speaker(s)) mayfunction as an output device to output audio sounds corresponding toaudio data, which may be stored in the buffer(s) 912 of the wirelessearbud 902, another memory location, and/or be received from anothercomputing device communicatively coupled to the wireless earbud 902. Insome examples, the speaker(s) 910 may emit audible statements tocommunicate with the user, and the user may respond or otherwise issuevoice commands, which may be captured by the microphone(s) 906 and/or908. Thus, the speaker(s) 910 may be used in conjunction with themicrophone(s) 906 and/or 908 to facilitate a conversation with the user.The speaker(s) 910 may output various types of audio data, such as audiodata from a phone call (e.g., a phone call conducted through the sourcedevice 122 and communicated to the wireless earbud 902 using a wirelessnetwork), music audio data (e.g., 126), or any other type of audio data.

The wireless earbud 902 may further include the buffer(s) 912 forstoring, at least temporarily, various types of data. For instance, ifthe wireless earbud 902 is outputting audio data using the speaker(s)910, the buffer(s) 912 may store portions of the audio data prior tooutputting the audio data. By storing audio data in the buffer(s) 912,the wireless earbud 902 may perform various types of operations. Forexample, when replying to a status inquiry (e.g., S414, S426, S514,S534, or S558) the wireless earbud 902 may reference the buffer(s) 912to determine a sequence number of a last fully received audio packet anda bitmap representing any packets that were not received. In anotherexample, the wireless earbud 902 may reference the buffer(s) 912 to copyaudio data that is identified in a status update (e.g., S418, S430,S450, S518, S538, or S562), so the wireless earbud 902 may forward acopy of the audio data to another wireless earbud that missed thepackets. As another example, the buffer(s) 912 may store exterior audiodata generated by the exterior microphone(s) 908 that represents theexterior sound. The exterior audio data may be used for variouspurposes, such as for performing active acoustic isolation to reduce theamount of exterior sound 122 that reaches the in-ear microphones(s) 116.

The wireless earbud 902 may further include computer-readable media 914,which stores various software components, firmware components, orcombinations thereof. The components stored in the computer-readablemedia 914 may comprise computer-readable instructions (e.g., software,firmware, a combination thereof, etc.), which configure the processor(s)904 to perform various operations. The computer-readable media 914 maystore an operating system 916 configured to manage hardware, software,firmware, and/or other systems and services within and coupled to thewireless earbud 902. The computer-readable media 914 may additionallystore one or more applications, such as music playing applications,telephone call conducting applications, or any other type ofapplications appropriate for a wireless earbud 902. The applications maybe configured to play songs or other audio data/files by causing theprocessor(s) 904 to output audio data using the in-ear speaker(s) 910.

The wireless earbud 902 may be powered, at least partially, be aninternal power supply 918. For instance, the wireless earbud 902 mayinclude one or more of batteries, battery banks, supercapacitors,rechargeable batteries, or any other type of internal power supply whichmay be charged using mains-power and provide power to the wirelessearbud 902.

The wireless earbud 902 may further include one or more networkinterfaces 920 that may be utilized by the wireless earbud 902 tocommunicate with other devices over networks, such as the network(s)124, 130, 132, 142, 144, 154, and 156. Generally, the networkinterface(s) 920 enable the wireless earbud 902 to communicate over anytype of network, such as a wired network (e.g., USB, Auxiliary, cableetc.), as well as wireless networks (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, PersonalArea Networks, Wide Area Networks, and so forth). In some examples, thenetwork interface(s) 920 may include a wireless unit coupled to anantenna to facilitate wireless connection to a network. However, thenetwork interface(s) may include any type of component (e.g., hardware,software, firmware, etc.) usable by the wireless earbud 902 tocommunicate over any type of wired or wireless network. The networkinterface(s) 920 may enable the wireless earbud 902 to communicate overnetworks such as a wireless or Wi-Fi network communications interface,an Ethernet communications interface, a cellular network communicationsinterface, a Bluetooth communications interface, etc., forcommunications over various types of networks, including wide-areanetwork, local-area networks, private networks, public networks etc. Inthe case of a wireless communications interfaces, such networkinterface(s) 920 may include radio transceivers and associated controlcircuits and logic for implementing appropriate communication protocols.

In some implementations, the processors(s) 904 may include a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), both CPU andGPU, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor and/or otherprocessing units or components known in the art. Alternatively, or inaddition, the functionally described herein can be performed, at leastin part, by one or more hardware logic components. For example, andwithout limitation, illustrative types of hardware logic components thatcan be used include field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application-specificstandard products (ASSPs), system-on-a-chip systems (SOCs), complexprogrammable logic devices (CPLDs), etc. Additionally, each of theprocessors(s) 904 may possess its own local memory, which also may storeprogram modules, program data, and/or one or more operating systems. Theprocessors(s) 904 may be located in a single device or system, or acrossdisparate devices or systems, which may be owned or operated by variousentities.

The computer-readable media 914 may include volatile and nonvolatilememory, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method ortechnology for storage of information, such as computer-readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Suchmemory includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memoryor other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) orother optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, RAID storage systems, or anyother medium which can be used to store the desired information andwhich can be accessed by a computing device. The computer-readable media914 may be implemented as computer-readable storage media (“CRSM”),which may be any available physical media accessible by the processor(s)904 to execute instructions stored on the memory 904. In one basicimplementation, CRSM may include random access memory (“RAM”) and Flashmemory. In other implementations, CRSM may include, but is not limitedto, read-only memory (“ROM”), electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (“EEPROM”), or any other tangible medium which can beused to store the desired information and which can be accessed by theprocessors(s) 904.

As used herein, a recitation of “and/or” with respect to two or moreelements should be interpreted to mean only one element, or acombination of elements. For example, “element A, element B, and/orelement C” may include only element A, only element B, only element C,element A and element B, element A and element C, element B and elementC, or elements A, B, and C. In addition, “at least one of element A orelement B” may include at least one of element A, at least one ofelement B, or at least one of element A and at least one of element B.Further, “at least one of element A and element B” may include at leastone of element A, at least one of element B, or at least one of elementA and at least one of element B.

While the foregoing invention is described with respect to the specificexamples, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is notlimited to these specific examples. Since other modifications andchanges varied to fit particular operating requirements and environmentswill be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is notconsidered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure andcovers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departuresfrom the true spirit and scope of this invention.

Although the application describes embodiments having specificstructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features oracts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are merelyillustrative some embodiments that fall within the scope of the claimsof the application.

What is claimed is:
 1. An audio system comprising: a first pair ofwireless earbuds comprising a first wireless earbud and a secondwireless earbud that exchange data via a first communication channel; asecond pair of wireless earbuds comprising a third wireless earbud and afourth wireless earbud that exchange data via a second communicationchannel, which is different from the first communication channel;wherein the first wireless earbud comprises: one or more processingunits; and one or more memory units storing instructions that, whenexecuted by the one or more processing units, cause the one or moreprocessing units to execute operations comprising: receiving first audiodata from a source device via a third communication channel, which isdifferent from the first communication channel and the secondcommunication channel; receiving, from the second wireless earbud, afirst message indicating that the second wireless earbud received thefirst audio data; receiving, via a fourth communication channel and fromthe third wireless earbud, a second message indicating that the firstaudio data was not received by the third wireless earbud; andtransmitting a copy of the first audio data to the third wireless earbudvia the fourth communication channel.
 2. The audio system of claim 1,wherein the second wireless earbud, the third wireless earbud, and thefourth wireless earbud each comprises: one or more processing units; andone or more memory units storing instructions that, when executed by theone or more processing units, cause the one or more processing units ofeach of the second wireless earbud, the third wireless earbud, and thefourth wireless earbud to execute operations comprising: receiving,using settings associated with the third channel, the first audio datafrom the source device.
 3. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the oneor more memory units store instructions that, when executed by the oneor more processing units, cause the one or more processing units toexecute operations comprising, prior to receiving the first message:waiting, during a first portion of a discrete time duration;determining, during a second portion of the discrete time duration, thatsecond audio data is not received; and sending, via the firstcommunication channel and to the second wireless earbud, a third messageduring the second portion of the discrete time duration, the thirdmessage indicating a status inquiry.
 4. The audio system of claim 1,wherein the one or more memory units store instructions that, whenexecuted by the one or more processing units, cause the one or moreprocessing units to execute operations comprising: synchronizing a clockbased on settings provided by the source device, the clock being used totrack discrete time durations; counting, based on the clock, a quantityof discrete time durations elapsed; and sending, based on the quantityof discrete time durations elapsing and via the fourth communicationchannel, a third message to the third wireless earbud, the third messageindicating a status inquiry.
 5. The audio system of claim 4, wherein thecounting the quantity of discrete time durations is initiatedasynchronously with the source device transmitting audio data via thethird communication channel.
 6. The audio system of claim 4, wherein thecounting the quantity of discrete time durations is synchronized tostart in parallel with the source device transmitting the first audiodata via the third communication channel.
 7. The audio system of claim1, wherein the fourth wireless earbud comprises: one or more processingunits; and one or more memory units storing instructions that, whenexecuted by the one or more processing units, cause the one or moreprocessing units of the fourth wireless earbud to execute operationscomprising: receiving the copy of the first audio data transmitted, viathe fourth communication channel, from the first wireless earbud to thethird wireless earbud.
 8. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the thirdwireless earbud comprises: one or more processing units; and one or morememory units storing instructions that, when executed by the one or moreprocessing units, cause the one or more processing units of the thirdwireless earbud comprises to execute operations comprising: transmittinga copy of the first audio data to the fourth wireless earbud via thesecond communication channel.
 9. A method of sharing audio data among afirst pair of wireless earbuds, which includes a first wireless earbudand a second wireless earbud, and a second pair of wireless earbuds,which includes a third wireless earbud and a fourth wireless earbud, themethod comprising: establishing, by the first wireless earbud, a firstcommunication channel with a source device; sending link data associatedwith the first communication channel to the second wireless earbud, thethird wireless earbud, and the fourth wireless earbud; synchronizing, byeach of the second wireless earbud, the third wireless earbud, and thefourth wireless, respective channel settings based on the link data;receiving, by the first wireless earbud via the first communicationchannel, first audio data from the source device; receiving, by thefirst wireless earbud and via a second communication channel, a firstmessage from the second wireless earbud indicating that the secondwireless earbud received the first audio data; receiving, by the firstwireless earbud and via a third communication channel, a second messagefrom the third wireless earbud indicating that the first audio data wasnot received by the third wireless earbud; and transmitting, by thefirst wireless earbud and via the third communication channel, a copy ofthe first audio data to the third wireless earbud.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, further comprising: prior to receiving the first message:waiting, by the first wireless earbud and during a first portion of adiscrete time duration; determining, by the first wireless earbud andduring a second portion of the discrete time duration, that second audiodata is not received; and sending, by the first wireless earbud and viathe second communication channel, a third message to the second wirelessearbud, the third message being sent during the second portion of thediscrete time duration and indicating a status inquiry; and prior toreceiving the second message: counting, by the first wireless earbud andbased on a clock, a quantity of discrete time durations elapsed; andsending, by the first wireless earbud and based on the quantity ofdiscrete time durations elapsing, a fourth message to the third wirelessearbud via the third communication channel, the fourth messageindicating a status inquiry.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein theinterval of discrete time durations begins asynchronously with thesource device transmitting audio data via the first communicationchannel.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the interval of discretetime durations begins in parallel with the source device transmittingthe first audio data via the first communication channel.
 13. The methodof claim 9, further comprising: sending, by the third wireless earbud,the second message to the first wireless earbud; and prior sending thesecond message, receiving, by the third wireless earbud and via a fourthcommunication channel, a third message indicating that the fourthwireless earbud did not receive the first audio data.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, further comprising: sending, by the third wireless earbud andvia the fourth communication channel, the copy of the first audio datato the fourth wireless earbud.
 15. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising: receiving, by the fourth wireless earbud, the copy of thefirst audio data transmitted via the third communication channel.
 16. Amethod of sharing audio data among a first pair of wireless earbuds,which includes a first wireless earbud and a second wireless earbud, anda second pair of wireless earbuds, which includes a third wirelessearbud and a fourth wireless earbud, the method comprising:establishing, by the first wireless earbud, a first communicationchannel with a source device; sending link data associated with thefirst communication channel to the second wireless earbud, the thirdwireless earbud, and the fourth wireless earbud; synchronizing, by eachof the second wireless earbud, the third wireless earbud, and the fourthwireless, respective channel settings based on the link data; receiving,by the first wireless earbud via the first communication channel, firstaudio data from the source device; receiving, by the first wirelessearbud and via a second communication channel, a first message from thesecond wireless earbud indicating the second wireless earbud did notreceive the first audio data; sending, by the first wireless earbud tothe second wireless earbud, a first copy of the first audio data;receiving, by the first wireless earbud and via the second communicationchannel, a second message from the third wireless earbud indicating thethird wireless earbud did not receive the first audio data; and sending,by the first wireless earbud to the third wireless earbud, a second copyof the first audio data.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the firstmessage is received during a first time period, and wherein the secondmessage is received during a second time period that does not overlapwith the first time period.
 18. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising, prior to receiving the first message: waiting, by the firstwireless earbud and during a first portion of a first discrete timeduration; determining, by the first wireless earbud and during a secondportion of the first discrete time duration, that second audio data isnot received; and sending, by the first wireless earbud and via thesecond communication channel, a third message to the second wirelessearbud during the second portion of the first discrete time duration,the third message indicating a status inquiry; and prior to receivingthe second message: waiting, by the first wireless earbud and during afirst portion of a second discrete time duration; determining, by thefirst wireless earbud and during a second portion of the second discretetime duration, that second audio data is not received; and sending, bythe first wireless earbud and via the second communication channel, afourth message to the third wireless earbud during the second portion ofthe second discrete time duration, the fourth message indicating astatus inquiry.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising, waiting,by the second wireless earbud and the third wireless earbud and duringthe first portion of the first discrete time duration; determining, bythe second wireless earbud and the third wireless earbud and during thesecond portion of the first discrete time duration, that second audiodata is not received; and changing, by the second wireless earbud andthe third wireless earbud and during the second portion of the firstdiscrete time duration, channel settings from being associated with thefirst communication channel to being associated with the secondcommunication channel.
 20. The method of claim 16, further comprising,receiving, by the first wireless earbud and via the second communicationchannel, a third message from the fourth wireless earbud indicating thefourth wireless earbud did not receive the first audio data; andsending, by the first wireless earbud to the fourth wireless earbud, athird copy of the first audio data.